Alive Again
by Akai Senkou
Summary: Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.
1. Neglect

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Neglect**

A four year old Harry Potter dug through the contents that were stored in the cupboard under the stairs at Number Four Privet Drive. He grabbed at items that tugged at his interest, tugging and tossing them to entertain his toddler mind. Few items held his interest for long as he looked to find something to play with. The dim light from the light bulb in the cupboard illuminated the various cleaning supplies shoved into a corner of the room. Despite this being the place where he slept, his aunt continued to store her cleaning supplies in his space.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway leading to the cupboard under the stairs. Harry startled as the bolt on the door slid open with a thunk and door suddenly swung open to reveal Aunt Petunia.

"Shoo," she said was she waived her nephew away from the cleaning supplies. A medium sized bottle of industrial bleach rested on her hip. She hefted it into her hands and shoved it into the corner with the rest of the cleaning supplies. "Stop making a mess in the cleaning supplies," she said as she frowned in the direction of her nephew. Harry remained silent as he watched her with wide green eyes, but he quickly nodded to show his understanding. With that, Petunia closed the door, slid the bolt back into place, and left.

As her footsteps faded away Harry scooted back over to the cleaning supplies with no intention of listening to his aunt. He was bored and the supplies were one of the few things in his small room that could entertain him. Small hands grabbed for the item closest to him-the bottle of bleach. He tugged it closer curious about the bottle his aunt had just left behind.

As Harry tugged at the white container, the improperly secured cap slipped off and clattered to the floor. Peering into the container, Harry noticed a clear liquid that looked like water. Had Aunt Petunia left a jug of water for him? He hadn't been given breakfast yet and he was awfully thirsty.

Without a second thought, the four year old hefted the container into his lap, put his mouth over the opening, and titled it so he could drink it. The liquid burned down his mouth and throat and he immediately tore his mouth away from the open, coughing. Harry coughed and wheezed as the burning spread to his chest and he spit up some of the clear burning liquid.

As he coughed and tried to clear the bleach from his system, his arms jerked knocking over the white container and spilling the bleach across the floor. As his coughing lessened, Harry rolled away from the spilled bleach and curled into a ball breathing heavily. Wheezing breaths echoed through the small, dimly lit cupboard as he tried to catch his breath. He wrapped his arms around his torso as his stomach began to ache. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes as he gagged and then vomited. Yellow stomach acid mixed with the clear bleach as he coughed it up onto the floor next to the spilled bleach.

Harry continued to struggle to breathe as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, crawled to his bed and drifted into unconsciousness. The child's wheezing breaths became more and more shallow and his chest rose and fell slower and slower. Eventually, Harry stopped breathing and stillness crept through the room. Thirty seconds passed. Then a full minute. And another. Suddenly, Harry coughed, his chest contracting as his body desperately took in air. His body eased into sleep.

Later, Harry was awoken by the frantic shouting of his aunt as she scold him for the mess he made and sent him upstairs to bathe. When he later returned to his room, his aunt had removed all of the cleaning supplies from the cupboard under the stairs and cleaned the floor. Never had it occurred to Petunia that the bleach had done more than just make Harry sick.


	2. The Killing Curse

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Killing Curse**

A flash of green light. A woman screaming. Another flash of green light. Harry Potter died the night the killing curse hit him and rebounded back towards Voldemort. The lifeless body of the one year old lay in his bed, green eyes open. With a whooshing noise, air passed through the boy's lips; his chest faintly rose and fell; color seeped into his cheeks. With another breath, life flooded his eyes and he let out a wailing cry. The child wailed from panic, confusion and pain. A miracle! The Boy-Who-Lived! No one thought otherwise that Harry had actually died that night.


	3. Gardening

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Gardening**

When Harry was six, Uncle Vernon sent him outside to pull weeds from the garden.

As he tugged the garbage can he was using to collect the green waste, Harry tripped, fell, and hit his head on the concrete area surrounding the shed. Pain exploded through his head and he let out a cry of pain. Tears began falling from his eyes as he began crying.

Uncle Vernon slammed the back door open to the cries of his nephew an agitated expression on his face. His annoyance only increase at the sight of his crying nephew, lying curled on the ground holding his head.

"Stop your wailing, boy!" the overweight man bellowed. His shouting startled Harry out of his sobbing even as his tears continued to drip down his face. He rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to stop his tears before he could further anger his uncle. Despite the throbbing in his head, he slowly sat up. He lightly brushed one of his hands across his head feeling for the bump that he knew had to be forming. Satisfied that the boy was getting back to work, Uncle Vernon turned and went back into the house.

Head throbbing, Harry stood up and went back to dragging the trash can over to the section of the yard where he was pulling weeds. As he pulled weeds, his vision blurred and he felt waves of dizziness. Despite this he kept working since he did want to bring down the wrath of his uncle.

Later that night, while in his cupboard under the stairs, Harry lost consciousness and suffered a stroke from a brain hemorrhage and died. Slightly later that night, we woke up perfectly fine, his headache and dizziness completely gone.


	4. Wizards

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Wizards**

Learning that he was a wizard was one of the greatest things that he could have hoped for. Magic! Could that explain the strange scenarios that always seemed to happen around him? The mysterious instances where we wasn't sure if he had died or not?

Little did Harry know, was that his problem was not common and the wizarding world was even more dangerous than the muggle one.


	5. Magic

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Magic**

Even through the pain, Harry kept his hands on Professor Quirrell and in turn on Voldemort. Harry was no stranger to pain, but this was the most painful feeling that he had ever experienced. He watched as Quirrell's face seemed to crumble and the man screamed from the sensation of falling apart. Voldemort's spirit fled as he felt Quirrell's life dwindling.

As Voldemort fled, Quirrell's magic lashed out in desperation and in one last attempt to save himself. As he died, the magic from his body multiplied the pain that Harry was feeling as his mother's protection attempted to save him. It was all for naught as Harry collapsed to the floor, body still, and heart silent. And again, like every other time, impossible breathe passed through Harry's lips and he awoke. Alive again.


	6. Death Eaters

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Death Eaters**

"Kill the spare."

Harry's eyes widened in panic. No! Without a second thought, he threw himself in front of Cedric.

"Avada Kedavra."

Harry blinked in the next instance finding himself sprawled on the ground next to a distraught Cedric who kneeled over him.

"Harry?" the Hufflepuff questioned, his voice shaking and bewildered to see the younger boy blinking and apparently fine.

"I'm fine," Harry responded as he sat up and grabbing a hold of his wand. "I'll explain later. We need to get back to the portkey."

Cedric nodded shakily and he stood, held out a hand for Harry to grab onto, and tugged the other boy to his feet. They hurriedly ran towards the portkey-cup before a shocked Wormtail could gather his wits and start firing more curses. They both grabbed the cup and were whisked away to safety.


	7. Saving People Thing

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Saving People Thing**

Harry had always had a saving people thing. He guessed it was okay when he couldn't die anyways. If he could take their place and not come out of the situation for worse, why wouldn't he save someone?

That was why when Snape had his wand pointed at Professor Dumbledore, he kept struggling to break free of the spell holding him in place under the invisibility cloak. Snape was going to kill Dumbledore right in front of him!

With a massive push of his magic, he shattered the spell holding him. His invisibility cloak slipped off him and drifted to the ground as Harry ran in front of the headmaster. His heart pounded frantically, it's loud noise drowning out all the sound around him as everything around him seemed to slow down.

He made it barely in time to take the killing curse in place of the headmaster. A flash of green, then darkness.

Both Snape and Dumbledore watched in horror as Harry seemingly appeared out of nowhere and was hit with the killing curse instead. Lifeless, the teenager's body fell to the ground, and the two men stared frozen with shock.

Snape was the first to shake himself from his shock and he rushed towards the now dead Harry Potter. He fell to his knees beside the body and felt for a pulse. Nothing. Lily's son was dead and it was all his fault. Dumbledore still stood frozen, seemingly unable to comprehend what had just happened.

And then Harry breathed, his chest beginning to rise and fall. Snape searched for the teenager's pulse once again to find it fluttering against his fingers. He placed a hand on Harry's chest to reassuring himself that it was indeed moving. Impossible. He was dead. Hit by the killing curse. There was no way he could be alive.

"Albus, he's alive!" Snape exclaimed towards the elderly wizard. Harry's green eyes fluttered open, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight of Snape next to him. As he shifted to move away from the potions master, Snape placed a firm hand on the Boy-Who-Lived's shoulder. That stupid moniker now seemed more appropriate than ever

Finally shaken out of his shock, Dumbledore hurried to explain the situation. "Harry, Professor Snape is not our enemy. I asked him to kill me."

"You did _what_?"

"By killing me, Professor Snape would gain access to Voldemort's inner circle and gain his trust. He would be able to protect you better," the headmaster explained to the increasing ire of the boy laying on the ground.

"And what made you think that was a good idea?" Harry demanded, sitting up and brushing Snape's hand off his shoulder.

"And what made you think running in front of a killing curse was a good idea?" Snape cut in, his voice sharp and degrading.

"Because obviously I'd be fine."

" _Obviously_?" the potions master demanded, his tone making clear his opinion of Harry's intelligence.

Green eyes narrowed in fury as he opened his to spit out another retort, only to be interrupted by the headmaster.

"Harry what did you mean about being fine?" Dumbledore questioned.

The anger seemed to drain out of the teenager as he realized what he had said earlier. He mumbled incoherently, looking away from both of the professors.

"Speak clearly!" Snape snapped.

"I… er… kind of can't die properly..."

"I think you have a lot of explaining to do."


	8. Half Truths

**Title:** Alive Again 

**Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter 

**Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings. 

**Chapter 8: Half Truths**

Harry scanned the halls as he moved through the crowds of students. He was on the lookout for Cedric and doing his best to avoid him. He knew that he had promised to explain what had happened on the night of the last task to the other boy, but he had no idea what he was going to say. It definitely wasn't going to be the truth. Harry let out a sigh of relief as he made his way towards Gryffindor Tower. It looked like he had successfully avoided the older student once again. 

As he turned down the hall that led to the entrance of his dorm, he felt a sudden tug on his arm, and he was pulled into an abandoned classroom. He whirled around, reaching for his wand. 

"Jumpy?" 

"Uh… hi, Cedric." 

"You said you'd explain," the Hufflepuff said as the Boy-Who-Lived refused to meet his eyes. "You've been avoiding me." 

"Well it's pretty complicated and confusing." 

"I think I can follow." 

"I can hardly understand it myself!" Harry blurted out, feeling overwhelmed. What in the world was he going to say? _Oh, by the way Cedric, I can't die. Don't know how, don't know why, but I'm immortal!_ Even his own thoughts were beginning to sound hysterical! 

Cedric remained silent, arms crossed and waiting expectantly for an explanation. Harry thought frantically for something believable to tell the other. 

"What do you know about what happened with Voldemort when I was a baby?" Harry asked to buy some time. If he was going to pull this off he needed his lies to based on some truths. It was much easier to convince someone when most of what you were saying was true. In this case, he would let Cedric make his own assumptions which would lead to the incorrect answer, but would satisfy the other boy nonetheless. 

"Not much. I only know what everyone else knows about that night. Did something happen then?" 

"I wasn't actually the one to defeat him," Harry explained. "It was my mum. She used powerful light magic to protect me which led to the killing curse rebounding towards Voldemort." 

"And what does that have to do with the other night?" Cedric questioned. However, Harry could already see conclusions being formed in the older boy's mind. He was totally going to buy this! 

"Like I said, I don't fully understand it myself. But, my mother's protection is still in place. It's still protecting me." 

"You mean, the killing curse doesn't work on you?" was the incredulous reply. 

Harry nodded. He hadn't said anything untrue. He was just letting Cedric assume what he wanted. After all, half truths worked better than full lies. 


	9. Dementors

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Dementors**

The screams of his mother surrounded him as the dementors swarmed around him. One swooped upon him to deliver a Kiss and he felt his life draining away. What would happen if his soul were to be consumed? Technically his body would still be alive, while his soul would be dead. Would that finally be the end to his curse?

He faded out of consciousness as the dementor finally consumed his soul.

Harry jolted awake to find himself covered in his own blood and with the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.


	10. That One Time He Didn't Die

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: That One Time He Didn't Die**

Harry stared dumbly at the basilisk fang in his hand and the gaping hole in his arm. Basilisks were incredibly poisonous. He was going to die. Again. He closed his eyes and waited for the process of complete himself. Fawkes hovered over him, trying to comfort him. He sighed and opened his eyes to view the beautiful phoenix.

To his surprise, the bird was crying and he watched as the tears fell onto the wound. "Phoenix tears have healing properties," he said as he watched his wound began to heal. That had slipped his mind. "You don't need to do that Fawkes. I'll be fine."

The bird continued to cry and heal his wound. It looked as if he wouldn't be dying, for once. It was a nice change.


	11. Time Travel

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Time Travel**

Harry watched from the edge of the Forbidden Forest as dementors swarmed around his past self and Sirius Black. He remembered dying and waking up unsettled and confused. This would be the perfect time to find out exactly what had happened after he had died.

A dementor hovered about his past self as it began to deliver a Kiss. He watched the soul be sucked out of his body. He scanned the rest of the area. Who had rescued them? He watched anxiously as the dementors targeted Sirius and moved to deliver a Kiss to him as well. That was not good. Sirius wasn't cursed like he was! Harry raised his wand.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A silver stag rushed forward driving the dementors away and he rushed forward. Sirius was unconscious, but alive. The dementors had been unable to take his soul.

He then turned to his body surprised to find his past self sprawled on the ground, skin pale, eyes unfocused, and breathing very shallowly. _He hadn't died?_ Harry cautiously moved towards his past self and knelt beside him. He waved a hand in front of the vacant eyes, hoping for a response. He received none. He swallowed, his mouth feeling dry and his heart pounding anxiously. He had received a dementor's kiss.

The disconcerting feeling he had experienced when he had awoken after being rescued made a lot more sense. If he hadn't died and instead his soul had been sucked out by a dementor, then how was he alive now? He did like the potential answers that were coming to mind.

He grasped his wand more firmly in his hand as he raised it to point it at his past self. Recalling the blood he had woken up covered in, he knew what he would have to do. He would have preferred to used something cleaner, but there was no way that he'd ever be able to perform something like the killing curse. The only thing he was capable of at his current level of education in magic that wouldn't cause _too much_ of a mess was a simple severing charm. He directed his wand towards his past self's throat.

" _Diffindo_."


	12. Horcrux

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Horcrux**

Harry stared uncertainly at the sword of Gryffindor laying at the bottom of the frozen pond.

" _Accio_ sword."

Nothing. He sighed.

" _Diffindo_." The ice cracked, making it possible to dive into the pond to retrieve the sword. It was going to be bloody cold.

Harry dived into the pond, the cold water painfully stinging against his skin. He reached for the sword only for a sharp pain around his neck to distract him.

Air rushed from his lungs as he grabbed for the horcrux locket around his neck. The chained burned as it tried to strangle him. His lunged strained from the lack of oxygen. The teenager continued to attempt to hold his breath and pry the locket from his throat at the same time.

Unable to hold his breath any longer, Harry gasped, water rushing down his throat and into his lungs. His struggles weakened as drowned, blacked out, and then died.

Harry spluttered awake, coughing up water as he struggled to breathe.

"Bloody hell, Harry! I thought I hadn't pulled you out in time! You could've died!"

Harry just thought it best not to correct Ron's assumption that he hadn't died.


	13. The Source

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 13: The Source**

Sometimes Harry wondered what was causing his inability to die. Had he always been this way? Was is a result of what his mother had done to protect him? Or had something inexplicable happened with that first killing curse?

How could he possibly rid himself of the curse when he did know what had caused it or why he had it?

The Deathly Hallows were intriguing not because of the promise of immortality that the stories said the items gifted, but because of the ideas it stirred in his mind. Instead of something to give immortality like the philosopher's stone or the Hallows, why not something to take away immortality. If only. It seemed his life was never that straightforward.


	14. Dobby

**Title:** Alive Again

 **Alternate Title:** A Story Where I See How Many Ways There Are To Kill Harry Potter

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is cursed. He just can't seem to die properly. A non-chronological story told in bits and pieces. Rated T. No pairings.

* * *

 **Chapter 14:** **Dobby**

Harry watched the knife arc through the air as Dobby grabbed a hold of him. He wrapped his body around the small house elf as a sharp jolt of pain jolted him in the side as they popped away to safety. As the appeared at the safety of Shell Cottage, Harry felt wet blood seep through his clothing and the pain persist into a deep throbbing. He collapsed to the ground and his vision faded out.

" _Harry!_ "

That was how his two best friends found out he couldn't die.


End file.
